Something in his tone made her glance up at him but his expression was neutral.
‘Well, it’s not going that well,’ Bryony muttered, licking another envelope and adding it to the pile. ‘Christmas is three weeks away and I don’t have another date until Saturday.’
His expression was suddenly hostile. ‘You have a date on Saturday? Who with?’
Bryony blushed slightly. ‘Toby.’
‘Toby who?’ Jack was frowning and she laughed.
‘You know—our Toby. Toby from the mountain rescue team.’
‘You’re kidding!’ He glared at her. ‘Toby? He’s totally unsuitable.’
‘Calm down, Jack,’ Bryony said mildly, gathering up all the envelopes and putting them on the table. ‘Toby is nice. And he’s always been kind to Lizzie.’
‘Toby has a terrible reputation with women,’ Jack said frostily, and she shrugged.
‘So do you, Jack.’
‘But I’m not dating you.’
And how she wished he was. Her gaze met his and held and then he sucked in a breath and rose to his feet, powerful and athletic.
‘You can’t date Toby.’
‘Why not?’
There was a long silence and a muscle twitched in his jaw. ‘Because he isn’t right for you.’
She sighed. ‘Jack, you’re so jaded about relationships that you’re never going to think anyone is right, but trust me when I say I’m not going to choose anyone who would hurt Lizzie.’
He took several deep breaths. ‘I don’t want anyone to hurt you either.’
‘I know that.’ She smiled at him, touched that he cared at least that much. ‘You don’t need to be so protective. It’s nice, but I can look after myself.’
‘Where are you going on Saturday?’
She wondered why he was asking and then decided that it was idle curiosity. ‘Actually, I don’t know. Toby is keeping it a secret.’ She smiled. ‘Isn’t it romantic?’
‘Suspicious is the word I would use,’ Jack muttered, grabbing his coat and car keys and making for the door. ‘I’ll talk to him.’
Bryony gave an exasperated sigh. ‘Jack, you are not my minder.’
‘Toby is definitely not to be trusted when it comes to women,’ Jack growled. ‘I want him to know that I’m looking out for you.’
‘I should think he knows that, seeing as you spend half your life in my house,’ Bryony pointed out mildly, and he nodded.
‘Well, let’s hope so. I won’t have him messing either of my girls around.’
His girls.
Bryony swallowed and her eyes clashed with his. Something flickered in those blue depths and she knew that he was remembering their kiss. ‘We’re not “your girls”, Jack.’
He hesitated and a strange expression crossed his handsome face as he stared down at her. Then he muttered something under his breath, jerked open the front door and left the house.
The next day the temperature dropped further still and it started to snow. Wrapped up in her MRT gear, Bryony was posting her Christmas cards when her pager went off.
Relieved that Lizzie was spending the day with her mother, she drove herself to the rescue base, which was less than five minutes’ drive from her house.